Philippines Travel Guide

Philippines Overview

The Republic of the Philippines is located in Southeast Asia. On its west, is the South China Sea and on its east is the Pacific Ocean. The Republic of the Philippines is a sprawling archipelago, consisting of 7,107 islands. With more than seven thousand islands of various sizes, the Philippines is worthy of the name “a country of Pacific islands”. The main means of transport between the islands are planes and ships. However, the ship is quite slow in speed. These islands are like some sparkling pearls, scattered in the vast expanse of water of the West Pacific like stars in the sky or men on a chessboard. As a result, the Philippines is also known as “the pearl in the West Pacific”. The Republic of the Philippines is divided into three parts, including Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The Republic of the Philippines is a main member state of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and it is also one of the 24 member states of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation).

The Republic of the Philippines is a beautiful island country, enjoying a number of scenery of a great variety all over the country, including the coconut groove, coastal beaches, volcanoes and waterfalls. Besides, the clear sea water, the blue sky, the natural beauty of lakes and mountains all contribute to creating gorgeous scenery in the Philippines. As the Philippines in located in the subtropical zone, it abounds with many kinds of products. Tourists can have a taste of fruits and sea food there all the year round while visiting the Philippines. In addition, the Philippines has many ethnic groups. Because of some historical reasons, the Philippines combine the western customs and eastern customs quite well, making it a country full of exotic features. The Republic of the Philippines is the third largest English-speaking country. There are a lot of places of interest in the Philippines’s capital city, Manila, such as the San Agustin Church which is ancient and magnificent and the Malacanang Palace which is refreshing and elegant, both of which are perfect examples of Spanish-style art of architecture. Lohys Corniche is ten kilometers long, on one side of which there are many modern skyscrapers while on the other side of which there is a vast sea. The scenery on Manila is quite beautiful. Another well-known tourist sites are Banaue Rice Terraces, Baguio where the climate is like autumn all over the year, the famous historic city Cebu and many other attractine scenic spots.

The Philippines covers the land area of 0.2997 million square kilometers (29.97 million hectares), including 11 main islands such as Luzon Island, Mindanao Island and Samar Island, which account for 96% of the total area of the Philippines. The coast line of the Philippines is 18.533 thousand kilometers (about 11515.87 miles) long, thus there are many natural harbors in the Philippines. The Philippines enjoys a monsoon tropical climate with high temperature and abundant rainfall. Thus, the Philippines abound with plant resources. There are more than ten thousand kinds of tropical plants in the Philippines. As a result, the Philippines get the name of “the garden island”. The Philippines cover a forest area of 15.85 million hectares, accounting for 53% of the total area of the Philippines. Many kinds of rare wood such as ebony and sanders are produced in the Philippines.

The Republic of the Philippines, consisting of 7,107 islands, is rich in natural resources. With a long history and a colorful culture, the Philippines attract numerous tourists every year. Tourists can always find something new and interesting every time they step on an island of the Philippines. The trip to the Republic of the Philippines will never disappoint you.

In the republic of the Philippines, there are a number of famous beaches that are well known all over the world. Many kinds of marine creatures live in the deep sea. So, an increasing number of scuba diving fans are attracted there to explore the great fortune under the sea. The resorts in the Philippines are well equipped with perfect diving equipments. There are even professional diving trainers and guides providing diving services for tourists. In addition, the Philippines have every thing that tourists can expect to find such as the equipments for water skiing, surfing, wind surfing and flying around the island. Besides, tourists can also take a crystal-clear ship with glass bottom to enjoy the beautiful scenery in the beautiful and mysterious world of coral reefs.

Tourists who like the sun shine and beautiful beaches will enjoy themselves so much as to forget to leave at the end of their trips. However, those who do not like sun shine and beaches can also find what they are really interested in. That’s because there are various kinds of activities in these islands. Those who love nature can choose to climb the mountains, visit the islands, explore the caves, go hunting, take beautiful pictures and take part in many other interesting activities. Those who like learning the history and culture can go to visit some museums, some ancient buildings and monuments that have been there for many centuries and the churches from place to place. There, new thoughts can be provoked. If you want to experience the life in the countryside, you can go to visit the farms in every province. To those friends who have deep love for golf, the Philippines can be the ideal place to travel. In the Republic of the Philippines, there are golf courses that are famous all over the world. Many of them are designed by some world-class architects.

History

In the 16th century, Magellan, the famous Spanish navigator found this archipelago in the east. Since that time, the Philippines have become the colony of Spain. On June 12th, 1898, under the leadership of the poet Rizal, the Philippines announced its independence. However, just in the same year, it became the colony of the US. On July 4th, 1946, the Philippines became an independent country and the Republic of the Philippines was formally founded.

Culture

The Philippine people are quite faithful to their religion. Due to the long and gradual influence of the Buddhism and Hinduism, the Buddhism that most Philippine people believe in contains something Buddhist. Besides, there are many statues of Buddha in the temples of Hinduism. The statues of the gods in different religions look different. Some are ferocious in facial expressions, some have many eyes that are staring in all directions and some are good at examining the feelings of people. There are also many carvings showing boldly the picture of men and women having sex in order to examine the nature of people. The designs of their temples are unique and the statues are artistic. The trip to the Philippines will be definitely unforgettable to every foreign tourist. The charm of the Philippines runs through various life styles on the islands, the colorful folk arts and the language of the Philippine people. It is deep rooted in the customs and traditions of Philippine people and at the same time refuse to be affected by the alien culture. On the plains of the Luzon Island, the dances have an impassioned Spanish rhythm. On the Mindanao Island, the Muslim dance on wars and weddings has an elegant rhythm. On the high mountains, the original music of the tribes has an ancient tune.

The Name of the Country

A long time ago, the Philippines is known as the names of Luzon, Sulu, Mait and so on. In the year 1521, when the Portugal navigator Magellan stepped on this archipelago, under the control of the Portugal colonialists, the Philippines became a holiday for the Catholicism. Thus the Philippines got a religious name. After that, Magellan was killed because he interfered into the internal strife on the island. As a result, people gradually forgot this religious name. In the year 1542, the Spanish navigator Miguel López de Legazpi arrived on this island from Mexico, being the second explorer of the Philippines after Magellan. To show off the “achievements” of the Spanish Empire, he named this archipelago the Philippines after the name of Flip, the crown prince of Spain. In June, 1898, the Philippine people overthrew the rule of the Spanish colonialists, announced its independence and changed the name of the country into the Republic of the Philippines in July,1946. The Philippines broke away from the colonial domination of the US and became an independent country. The name of the country remained to be the Republic of the Philippines until nowadays.